Formed counter construction for ballet slippers



1952 HARRIS 2,619,743

FORMED COUNTER CONSTRUCTION FOR BALLET SLIPPERS Filed Aug. 17. 1950 J2 I 1 a? {gm Byron Patented Dec. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT 0mm FORMED COUNTER CONSTRUCTION FOR BALLET SLIPPERS Leo Harris, Chicago, Ill. Application August 17, 1950, Serial No. 180,010

1 Claim. (CI. 36-83) This invention relates to a novel lasted dancing slipper and method of making the same.

According to prior art practice, the upper portion of such a slipper has been fabricated by stitching two counter quarters together and reinforcing the stitching by a backing or seam strip at the heel end of the slipper.

A primary object of the present invention is to form the back section or counter in a continuous piece, thereby avoiding the necessity of providing a backing strip in a lasted slipper.

Another object of the invention is to eliminate the prior art seam at the heel end of the upper portion of a lasted slipper to prevent rubbing against the Achilles tendon of the wearer.

Still another object of the invention is to eliminate the necessity of prestitching the lining to the back section of the slipper, although if desired the invention may be practiced with a prestitched lining.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a lasted dancing slipper embodying the invention:

Fig. 2 is an exploded view of the slipper;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the slipper on the last; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Describing the invention in detail and referring to the drawings, the slipper comprises an upper portion including a vamp section 2 serrated as at 4 with closely spaced gore notches, at the lower edge of its toe extremity, and also comprises a back section 6 serrated as at 8, at the lower edge of its heel extremity.

The vamp section 2 is stitched as at In to the back section or counter 6, and a, lining I2 is preferably stitched to these sections by the same' stitching. The lining I2 is shown as a two-piece lining with Vamp and back sections corresponding to the sections 2 and 6; however, it will be understood that if desired the lining I2 may be formed of one piece.

The sections 2 and 6 and the lining I2 are turned or folded under, as best seen in Fig. 3, and are stitched as at I4 to an inner sole I6 and an outer sole I8 preferably additionally secured to each other and to sections 2 and 6, as by adhesive. A small pad 26 of felt or other soft material is preferably positioned between the soles I6 and I8 to fill the space defined by the inturned portions of the vamp section 2, forwardly of the seam III.

A segment of binding tape 22 is preferably stitched at opposite edges thereof as at 24 to the upper edge of the sections 2 and 6 and to the lining I2, thereby forming a guideway for a drawstring 26, the ends of which may be tied by the wearer to pull the upper snugly about the foot.

-It may be noted that the lining I2 is stitched at 28 to the vamp section 2 below the tape 22, and if desired may be stitched as at 30 to the back section 6 of the slipper. However, an advantage of the invention resides in the fact that the lining I2 need not be stitched at 30 to the section 6, inasmuch as the latter is preformed to the proper shape and does not require a backing strip.

In manufacturing the novel slippers, the vamp section 2, the back section 6 and the lining I2 are all preferably precut to the form shown in Fig. 2, and as above noted the lining may be formed of one or a plurality of pieces.

The vamp and back sections 2 and 6 are then stitched to each other as at I0, and if desired the lining may simultaneously be stitched thereto, al-

though this is not necessary.

The lining I2 is then stitched at 28 to the vamp section and if desired is additionally stitched to the back section as at 36. The binding tape 22 is preferably simultaneously stitched at 24 to the sections 2 and 6, particularly if the stitching at 30 has been eliminated.

The sections 2 and 6 with the lining I2 therein are then slipped, bottom up, on a last (not shown) to which, an inner sole I6 has been tacked, and these sections are then folded over against the inner sole as shown in Fig. 4 and are secured thereto as by an adhesive, whereupon the tacks (not shown) securing the inner sole to the last are removed, and the felt 20 and outer sole I8 are secured, respectively, as by adhesive, to the inner sole and to the exterior surfaces of the sections 2 and 6.

After the sections 2 and 6 have been ironed in the usual manner to conformity with the configuration of the last, the slipper is removed therefrom and the soles are stitched at I l.

The drawstring 26 may be inserted at any time after the slipper has been lasted.

If desired the serrations 4 and 8 need not be preformed but may be formed by cutting away the surplus material of the sections 2 and 6 after they have been folded over on the last as seen in Fig. 4.

Thusit will be understood that I have devised a novel lasted slipper and method of making, wherein the conventional backing strip and prestitching of the lining may be eliminated to produce a more economical and more comfortable slipper.

Changes may be made in form and construction without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claim.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

A ballet dancing slipper having an upper including vamp and counter sections, each in the form of a single piece of which the counter extends uninterruptedly around the heel end of the slipper, seams joining said pieces to each other at the sides of the slipper, the lower edges of said sections being notched and cupped, a sole seated against the inner surface of said inturned sections, another sole seated against the external surface of said inturned sections, and stitching securing said soles to each other and to said notched sections.

LEO HARRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,386,684 Bradford Aug. 9, 1921 1,520,708 Goldstein et a1. Dec. 20, 1924 1,872,641 Capezio Aug. 16, 1932 

